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Decade-long battle pays off for Rexdale residents who won community benefits deal

At first, the idea of a community benefits agreement seemed like a gamble to some residents in Rexdale, home of the Woodbine casino development.

But after a decade-long battle, the Toronto Community Benefits Network (TCBN) and several other local groups have won a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) that will bring jobs, child care and other perks to the community.

It’s an early example in Ontario where residents are given a seat at the table alongside government, companies and developers for major infrastructure projects.

This summer, the community celebrated and TCBN awarded its first-ever “community benefit champion” award to eight neighbours who have spent years knocking on doors, rallying outside City Hall, researching, speaking to politicians and neighbours to get the agreement. Mustafa Abdi, Patricia Edwards, Barry Marsh and Chloe-Marie Brown explain how it all came about.

TCBN recently named you a “champion” of community benefits. How do you feel about the award?

Mustafa Abdi: I felt acknowledged for some of the hard work, not only that I did, but also for the fellow residents that won with me.

Barry Marsh: It was a surprise to me really, I wasn’t expecting it. But it was a pleasant surprise.

Patricia Edwards: I didn’t expect it either. All I did was stand in front of politicians and do a deputation.

Why join the fight for a community benefit agreement?

BM: In this community, especially among the youth, there are marginalized (people) and there’s low youth employment … so I try to help out in the community wherever I can.

MA: I was just running around and a student told me there’s going to be jobs coming, (so) come out and support. This was my first time being engaged or trying, where I felt like I was empowered and making decisions in my own community.

Chloe-Marie Brown: I believe community benefits agreements offer a more democratic approach by transforming the role of a real estate developer into an incoming resident with responsibilities to its neighbours. I believe this process allows policy-makers to address economic development, (and) inspire deeper levels of civic engagement while improving the physical character of a community.

How did you rally the cause and organize residents?

MA: Me and the other residents who won the award, we really started pushing and getting the word out there that, hey, this is coming and this is what we can do. We held a big community town hall here ... over 100 (attended) and kind of prioritized what they would like to see in this potential development. That was basically the groundwork of where we’re at today.

BM: We’ve knocked on, I would say, over 300 or 400 doors.

CB: I (researched) similar agreements globally and designed the Woodbine framework to extract the most social benefits from all stages of the development process — construction and post-construction employment, social procurement of vendors, child care for employees and access to community space were very important to establishing healthy and sustainable outcomes for residents and the casino.

Did you ever feel like giving up?

PE: Many times, oh my lord. I would feel like am I the only one out here trying to organize people? Things come up, life happens, you can’t demand people to be there at rallies. But one voice does make a difference.

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BM: Yes. It’s difficult because I like to work in the community, but this is a community that has been promised so much and it never comes around. So you knock on doors and (they’ll) say … that will never happen, good luck with that. It’s so hard to keep people’s hopes up when they have been turned down so many times.

What were the challenges?

CB: The biggest challenge is navigating the politics: there are a lot of stakeholders involved and each comes with their own concerns — provincial jurisdiction, funding issues, decline of traditional gaming, public-private partnerships etc. can create tensions, alter the course of negotiations and speed of development and can sometimes undermine the demands.

Who were your biggest allies?

MA: TCBN helped give us the support and resources and connections they had to help mobilize the community more. They negotiated the Metrolinx community benefits agreement so we said this is a good group to work with ... We weren’t as mobilized as we thought we were, so we said let’s go to an organization that’s a little bit more established, with some skin in the game, and we’ll get to the table that way.

What do you hope comes out of this victory?

BM: We could also use this to show the community that when we get involved, things can happen and we can make a change.

PE: More getting people from the community out, the individuals — instead of sitting behind a TV going, ‘oh look what they’re doing, I wish I could do that’ — and actually get involved, get engaged, get out there and join the group.

Advice for other neighbourhoods hoping community benefits are part of the next major infrastructure project?

MA: Sometimes you will be really, really frustrated. Sometimes you’ll feel like, ‘what am I really doing,’ and you won’t know which way to turn because there’s no real step-by-step process. So my advice would be to keep pushing and get as much advice as you can from people who have done it before and not to give up on the residents because residents will at first be hesitant to come out.

CB: Think big. It’s important to move beyond the traditional community consultation and introduce concepts that improve engagement and education in issues of sustainability and community development. For me, it is essential to find different ways for residents to be engaged beyond their role as taxpayers and be empowered to be active city builders.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

DIY Democracy is a weekly look at citizens of Toronto who are taking a grassroots approach to improving life in the city.

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